


Perne in a Gyre

by JulyFlame



Series: Consume My Heart Away [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Reincarnation, Self-Insert, Side Story, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27682615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JulyFlame/pseuds/JulyFlame
Summary: Side stories for "Come From the Holy Fire". Will be occasionally alternate perspectives and scenes that don't fit the main narrative.
Series: Consume My Heart Away [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024299
Comments: 55
Kudos: 135





	1. Notebook

**Author's Note:**

> This scene takes place after Chapter Seven. 
> 
> Minorly tongue in cheek summary: Sasuke's life is hard.

Sasuke stared at the notebook he pulled out of his pack. Everything else he had taken with him to Wave he had put away except for this. ' _Think about writing it down_ ,' the Sannin had said. He got up from his bed, and set it on the desk, hesitant, before he sat down in his desk chair and grabbed a pen, before opening it to the first page. 

_My name is Uchiha Sasuke._

He paused, biting his bottom lip. It was a new habit, one that had started the day they were assigned their genin teams. Putting his age didn't feel quite right, but… facts first. 

_I am a twelve year old genin of Konohagakure. My genin team is Team Seven, under Hatake Kakashi. My teammates are Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto._

_I am the only remaining Uchiha in the village._

_My older brother is a missing-nin._

_On our first mission out of the village I killed for the first time._

"And I don't know why," he whispered. That part he couldn't write down. Not when their whole team was pending a psychological evaluation. He knew the reasons for the evaluation— the mission on its own, along with his first kills— but how he felt when he did it was still a cold, disconnected thing, looking back on it. Like they weren't people. It wasn't something he liked to remember. He had thrown up after Haku had decapitated Gato on the corrupt businessman's ship. 

He hadn't slept well since then. Even right now he felt tired and worn down, but he refused to try and sleep it off just yet. 

He looked over what he wrote. Mentioning Nii-san at all was probably fool-hardy, but he still felt it was important to mention him. His brother had killed their whole clan, but…

But...

The thought skittered away unfinished, like it always did. No matter how many times he tried to force it, to try and figure out _why_ there was supposed to be a reason or excuse or explanation or anything attached, it evaporated away from him. 

He remembered walking in on Itachi standing over their parents' bodies, and then nothing in between, ended with a poke to his forehead and being told to become stronger. He had woken up to a woman in an Anbu mask carrying him to the hospital in a dead run. 

Genjutsu was what the medic-nin had diagnosed as the cause, and it was said to him with a pitying look, after the first interrogation in the hospital room with a Yamanaka clan member revealed the gaping hole in his memory. There was nothing to be done. He would just need to move on and he would be fine, though it was hard to ignore the fact that the medic spent an awful long time writing something in Sasuke's medical file after that, with a hefty report from the Yamanaka shoved in there. The folder had gone from being basically empty to almost as thick as Itachi's was, something he only got glances of when it was time for the yearly shots at the hospital. 

As far as anyone knew, his nii-san had snapped and killed the whole clan. No reason at all. Except for the fact that he could tell there was a second part to that thought stuck in his head, and only Sasuke knew it was there. 

He had become skilled at keeping secrets to himself since then, because whatever happened that night wasn't limited to that slippery thought and blocked out memory. 

Besides the loss of his whole clan in a single night, something about him had changed the moment he had stepped into the clan compound, even before he saw the first body or sign something was wrong. 

The adults had become easier to read, easier to understand, without needing to always ask why they were saying or doing something. Not so old and impenetrable. 

He still wished his first reaction to seeing Iruka-sensei when he finally returned to class hadn't been thinking that Iruka-sensei was practically a _baby_ who shouldn't be teaching, though. He shook his head, trying to clear his head of _that_ particular memory. 

Everything else, though… those first few months entirely on his own had been different, from how he suspected they should have been. 

He had been very, very careful to try and not reveal that he had only began to feel like that and was thinking like that from after the night of the massacre. He wasn't always successful, but it was at least enough. It meant the comments were about how he was showing his potential and was being so mature for his age, the speakers sometimes just barely avoiding mentioning Itachi, instead of them being about Sasuke being _off._

He wondered if this was how Itachi had felt at times, too. He remembered all the times Nii-san had been called responsible, mature, and treated like a miniature adult. Being able to be compared to Itachi more than he had to be was something he was trying to avoid. 

Not for the first time, he wished he was able to ask someone for advice about any of this. Instead, his sensei had stopped talking to him at all unless it was absolutely required, until their encounter with Jiraiya. Kakashi wasn't going _out_ of his way to pretend he didn't exist anymore, but it wasn't like it was before. 

Going out of his way to learn about the jōnin's history and finding out more about him had explained that. Kakashi was considered the village's last prodigy, before Itachi. His records— or lack therein— were proof enough to back that up. Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha's White Fang. A student of the Yondaime. Copy-nin Kakashi of a thousand jutsu. _Friend-killer_ Kakashi. Kakashi of the Sharingan, who had basically disappeared from the records a fresh genin could access around the time Sasuke was born. He could guess what that meant, when the jōnin was fourteen years older than his students, when there had been praise from his father for _Itachi_ being so young to join Anbu. 

No wonder his sensei was ignoring Sasuke. Especially with an ugly and old nickname like 'Friend-killer' in some of the older materials Sasuke could find, though it seemed to have gone out of use. 

Instead of anyone he could ask anything, all Sasuke had was a notebook he could barely write anything in. 

He flopped to the side, just barely landing on his mattress, where he rolled over and groaned face down into it. There was no grace in the movement. Being twelve and like this was awful. Maybe thirteen would be better.

  
  



	2. Three Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the hospital, after the second exam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set after chapter eleven.

It's been nearly three weeks since they managed to stagger into the tower with Team Haku's help, and Ino hasn't woken up yet.

Chōji tries to not think about how long it's been.

He's holed up in the hospital, too, after all, a few doors down. 

Trying to run on a broken leg only made it worse, and for his trouble of trying to explain why his leg ended up so broken a  _ bone _ ended up sticking out, his medical file was switched out to one of the special ones, a painful fluorescent yellow with 'Self Hazard' in large blocks on the edge of the folder. 

As a result, he's not going to be allowed out of the hospital any time soon. 

Shikamaru visits him, but doesn't ever stay for long. He's switched back to the shirts he sometimes used to wear in the academy, no mesh-armor shirt, his hitai-ate nowhere in sight. 

They don't talk about that, or what happened in the forest.

Chōji isn't sure he's ready to talk about it, but he  _ knows _ Shikamaru is even less ready to talk about it. 

The closest they get to talking about the second exam at all is visiting Iruka-sensei, who's  _ also _ in the hospital.

After all, that's what happens when you lose a hand.

In spite of what's arguably an even  _ worse _ situation to be in— Chōji's arm will eventually come out of its cast, and so will his leg, and he won't be forced to use a wheelchair forever if he tries to go anywhere farther than the hospital room toilet to pee and even then he's supposed to use crutches— Iruka smiles when he sees them. 

Iruka-sensei's hospital room is stuffed with get-well cards, flowers, boxes of sweets, fruit baskets, potted plants, a teddy bear, and, besides Iruka-sensei, usually holds a blubbering Naruto, no matter who else is in there or even if it's visiting hours for outside visitors or not. As often as not, there's usually someone else from their Academy class as well, making time from their remedial classes in order to qualify for a jōnin-sensei or from their own genin duties. 

Sometimes it has the rest of the Team Seven genin, too. 

Iruka-sensei likes to joke that if he knew losing a hand would get Naruto to behave more, he would have done it ages ago. It's not a funny joke.

After visiting with Iruka-sensei for about an hour, helping him eat some of the get-well chocolates, Chōji gets some of the snacks his mother brought him from his own hospital room and wheels over to the room Ino is in.

Ino's father is sitting in one of the uncomfortable hospital room chairs, pulled up right against the bed on the other side of the room, his eyes closed with his hands on Ino's temples. He looks so much older than he had before the exams started. 

It's also the first time he's seen Inoichi-ji since his and Shikamaru's interrogation. Even though he is off from working, he's still in the gray Interrogator uniform. The black coat is hanging off the back of the chair. 

The team Ino attacked, that tried to kill them, were defectors. Tsurugi Misumi. Akadō Yoroi. Yakushi Kabuto.

Ino's room is also filled up with cards and flowers from their former classmates. Sometimes some of them are in there, but never for as long as they're there for Iruka-sensei. Iruka-sensei is at least conscious and talks back. Sakura's usually in here as often as Chōji is, even so. 

Shikamaru has refused to visit.

Before he can say anything, Inoichi opens his eyes, and gives Chōji a tired smile. 

"Hi, Inoichi-ji," he says, self aware, wheeling into the room. Maybe it's too childish for a genin who was eligible and even made it as far as he did in the chūnin exams, but it's not like anyone else can hear and it's not like Chōji's able to  _ do _ any missions, right now. 

"Hi, Chōji-kun. Checking up on Ino?" 

"Yeah," he answers quietly. "I visit a lot." 

"Her mother mentions you're here every day. I appreciate it."

With her hair loose and her face relaxed from its usual confident expression, dressed in a hospital gown and with a tube down her nose, Ino looks small and so different. She doesn't look like Ino at all. 

Chōji looks down, before he finally asks the question that's been on his mind more and more for the past week. He's afraid of asking it, but he'll hate himself if he never asks before the answer he's afraid of makes itself known. "Is she ever going to wake up?"

"It might take some time on her own, but she will," Inoichi tells him.

Chōji breathes out a sigh of relief. It makes him feel a bit bolder. "Then why hasn't she?"

"That technique you and Shikamaru mentioned, with the chakra absorption. Yamanaka techniques convert consciousness into chakra. Ino's mind just needs time to rebuild itself, especially if it's left parts of her behind." 

"...Left parts of her behind?"

"Chakra doesn't dissipate or get absorbed evenly when it's disrupted or caused by an outside source, or when jutsu aren't ended correctly. Sometimes that can leave fragments of the original user's consciousness behind when they use Shintenshin and it doesn't end naturally," Inoichi explains. "The Yamanaka clan used to use that to our advantage, before the villages were established, since it could be utilized to add to our numbers and get children field-ready faster without as much training time." 

Chōji regrets asking, even though he knows all of the clans have terrible things in their histories, even his own. "Doesn't that mean that Kabuto guy will know some clan stuff from Ino, then?" That's worrying. 

"Even if he does, Ino doesn't know that much yet, and it takes far more spiritual energy than she has to make that sort of imprint on an adult," Inoichi reassures him. "She'd need more experience with Shintenshin than she has for it to be a problem. Unfortunately for us, the most he might have is a new affection for Ino's favorite flowers."

This doesn't make Chōji feel any better. 

Inoichi notices, at least, and gives him a reassuring look. "Why don't you stay in here with me, while I see if I can't get her to wake up today."

"She could wake up this soon?" 

"If I was able to make the time before this, it could have been earlier," Inoichi admits. "But you've noticed how busy we've been."

Even with trying to ignore it, he has. 

He moves his wheelchair so that he's at the foot of the bed; if both of them are going to be in here for a while, the nurses will get annoyed if both sides of the bed are blocked. Inoichi starts up what he was doing before Chōji entered the room.

Chōji's made his way through three bags of potato chips— all eaten and savored slowly, one chip at a time— when there's a sign of stirring in the bed.

"Ino!" Chōji drops the potato chip in his hand. 

Ino sits up slowly, blinking as she takes everything in, Inoichi's hands slipping from her face as she moves. "Oh. That's me, isn't it? It sounds right." There's an almost floaty element to her voice, that doesn't really sound like how Ino usually is unless she's daydreaming about boys or talking about flowers. "I feel funny." 

Inoichi's eyes open, his attention on his daughter. "Yes, Ino-chan, that's your name." His voice is so full of relief that Chōji feels awkward being here. 

Ino shifts all of her attention from Chōji and the rest of the hospital room to her father. Her eyes dart around, looking over her father as much as she can. Even from here, he can see when things click together. "Tou-chan!" 

After a moment, Ino bursts into tears, before leaning into her father's open arms. 

Even so, Inoichi has not forgotten about Chōji; he looks over at Chōji over his daughter and gives him an encouraging smile and mouths 'thank you'. 

Chōji leaves the room feeling less lost about the future.


	3. Analysis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adults find out that Orochimaru has infiltrated the village. Set right before chapter ten.

It's not unheard of to be summoned to the Hokage by messenger bird or otherwise, even in the middle of a morning shift on the Analysis Team watch floor, but looking around the hall at those who have been gathered concerns Inoichi. There is no immediately obvious one category those gathered belong to.

He, Chōza, and Shikaku all have very different positions where Konoha's internal operations are concerned these days; it's very infrequent that outside of clan head gatherings they are all required at the same meetings. Analysis and Supply have very little to do with each other, and they rarely see each other when working, outside of walking with each other to the Hokage's office when it's time to deliver monthly status reports. It's even rarer that they cross paths with Shikaku, who seems on edge, almost impatient today.

Loping in to join them, her dog at her side, is Inuzuka Tsume. She's not supposed to speak for the technically leaderless Inuzuka clan for another month. None of them have roles that require them to be at more than clan head meetings, and this is not one of them.

Even so, there are other clan heads here. Hyūga Hiashi is present, as is Shibi Aburame. Hatake Kakashi is pretending to be reading one of his trashy romance novels, fitting into the clan head theory if stretching it, but Maito Gai is standing next to him. The glimpse Inoichi got from walking past Kakashi-kun revealed the actual book inside the thin dust-jacket to be a treatise on diplomacy. The younger man must be feeling the heat from his current assignment. Considering that 'diplomatic' mission's a thinly disguised punishment, that's not surprising. Sarutobi Asuma's eyes are looking up at the ceiling. Both are jōnin, which makes some modicum of sense as he reviews the others he can place.

Others begin to filter in, but it isn't until Haruno Mebuki enters that he realizes that not all of those present are jōnin or even tokubetsu. Taking another look around, he notices that some of them are chūnin— a few no longer in active service, like Mebuki— and that there are even one or two civilians in the room, who are trying to keep to the side, unsure of being in close quarters with so many shinobi of repute.

He rearranges everything. Sakura-chan's parents are both inactive, which means that this is likely to do with the children, then. He cannot come up with any other answer immediately that would make sense. Sakura-chan is one of Kakashi-kun's students, and Ino had mentioned that her longtime friend's team were already trying for chūnin and had been nervously sulking about it in the flower shop until Asuma-kun had given them their own forms to fill out. Hiashi has not been able to resist the urge to casually comment about both his eldest daughter and nephew having been entered for the summer examination. More rookie genin in one exam than in the last few years, and so many of them are clan heirs. Inoichi sometimes wonders when his life moved from just gossip about his and his peers' lives to knowing about the lives of a whole gaggle of children.

He exchanges a glance with Chōza. His longtime friend's expression is one of mostly hidden consternation. Inoichi isn't the only one to have noticed then. If both of them have, no doubt there are others. Wordlessly and in sync, he and his old teammates slowly make it to one spot in the room, standing near each other, but not joining in the tense and awkward attempts at conversation spotting the room.

Some time passes, people continuing to trail in until there is a sizable contingent within the room and no more enter.

The Hokage and his advisors enter the room, grim-faced, and all attention snaps onto them, the room falling to complete silence. It is the man that follows them a few steps behind that makes Inoichi hold his breath for a moment.

It has been years since Jiraiya has been in the village, and the older man looks as serious-faced as the elders. It is a far cry from the awkward and funny teenager who one memorable summer entered the flower shop nearly every day when it was still Inoichi's mother's, in increasingly desperate attempts to use flowers to woo girls. Eventually, his mother had sent Jiraiya off with a potted magnolia and a well-intended note. After that, the once-daily purchases slowed until they were every few weeks, then months. By the time Inoichi was in charge of the flower shop's operations, the flower purchases had stopped entirely.

Jiraiya's presence does not bode well, after being gone for so long, especially when by all rights it means that Inoichi should have heard something, just from being on duty.

"You are all gathered here due to the chūnin exams," Hiruzen-sama says, once he is in position and looking at all of them. "All of you are the guardians of genin entered in this season's exams."

Jōnin-sensei of genin teams were responsible for the genin under their leadership, but not entirely. Young shinobi were not considered legally independent adults until sixteen by the laws of Fire. Parents had rights to involvement in their children's careers up to that point, to limit abuse of young workers or apprentices, and shinobi were not excluded. Those rights were able to be waived or ignored for military purposes, as long as the parents were made aware. Children could not join the academy without the parents being willing. While usually it wasn't pressed on in Konoha, this was an unwelcome sign, if the Hokage was even slightly invoking it. He was ensuring that this would stay within the village, whatever it was.

Looking over those present, Inoichi can tell that there are not very many people in the room that that particular issue applies to. The majority are jōnin-sensei.

"Jiraiya has returned to the village with grave news."

Concerned murmurs fill the room.

For the briefest of moments— and Inoichi isn't sure if it is enough for others here to pick up on, without previous exposure to the man— Jiraiya's body language shifts into one of surprised displeasure. He had not expected to deliver this news, then.

"Orochimaru has infiltrated the village with an eye towards the exams," Jiraiya tells them.

Chaos and shock take control over the room.

It is an incredibly concerning sign that not only is Inoichi finding this out just now— instead of _on the watch floor_ — but that Shikaku is as well, from the subtle twitch of the man's hands. They are so unprepared for this that it has gone right well past horrifying and into the absurd.

Hiashi is demanding answers, words clipped and short, ignoring the rebukes from Utatane-sama in turn.

Other parents are seeking out the jōnin in charge of their children.

The room is loud, uncharacteristic for an audience in front of the Hokage.

Kakashi is standing straight, no longer pretending to be undisciplined or eccentric, the book on the floor and forgotten.

All Inoichi can think, twistedly, is how bizarrely relieved he is that his clan's techniques are only secret ones.

"I am pulling Team Seven out of the exams, effective immediately," Kakashi says, loud enough to be heard over everyone else.

The room quiets for the shortest of moments, before others join in, taking Kakashi's lead.

"The exams will continue. No teams are to be pulled out," Hiruzen answers. There is something stony and not quite dangerous in his voice that causes complete silence. The Sandaime Hokage is known as the 'God of Shinobi', but this decision, more than most, is a reminder that even gods can make poor decisions. "This is the best opportunity we have to capture or kill Orochimaru."

It is not a comforting reminder when underlined with that goal.

The murmurs of discontent slowly grow, but stay quiet.

Kakashi's shoulders are set though, in a way that Inoichi cannot remember them being in years of sightings of the younger jōnin. Not since before the Yondaime's brief time in charge of the village. He had almost let himself forget that Kakashi was once a Hokage's pupil; it was easy to do so when Kakashi had thrown himself into the shadows. Each Hokage had produced powerful and influential students, where they had them. Kakashi had been the only one to survive of the Yondaime's set.

"I am not sacrificing my students just for the opportunity to capture an S-rank missing-nin," Kakashi says. Team Seven is the one that has Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. With Orochimaru's experimentation in mind... Out of all of the sensei in here, his genin are the most threatened. The last Uchiha in the village. The village's jinchuuriki and sole Uzumaki. With the two of them being such obvious targets, it all but guaranteed that if they are part of Orochimaru's plans that even the final member of his team, Ino's little friend Sakura, would be in great danger. The potential loss is matched only by Hyuuga Hiashi, with his daughter and nephew also on the line.

Inoichi finds himself in agreement with the younger man but doesn't make any motions to speak. Better to watch and wait, rather than to make his own stance completely clear, however obviously expected it should be.

"It is for the village's best interests," Shimura Danzō speaks, pulling all attention in the room on him. He rarely appears with the other three for meetings like this. "All loyal shinobi of the Leaf are willing to lay down their lives in times of war. This is the first time in years Orochimaru has appeared. The knowledge he has is too dangerous to let him remain free."

The silence is thick after that insinuation.

They are all loyal shinobi. To not be is to be a traitor, a sentence that ends in execution.

To push after that, in that same direction, would be a trap, and enough people in the room are aware of it.

"Sandaime-sama," Shibi begins, voice carefully even, "I am supposed to proctor the first examination soon. Will there be any changes to the schedule? If so, I need to know now." The head of the Aburame clan is skilled at sounding reproachful without accusation. It is, embarrassingly, a skill honed in him by Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chōza. "I cannot give them accurate information if I do not know myself."

"The second exam will be pushed to tomorrow morning," Hiruzen tells them. "This will give Anbu more time to search for him." A small mercy, like a knife to the throat to the slowly dying.

"All of you are being informed for you to keep an eye on your charges until then. Jōnin will be placed on standby to observe all foreign competitors to limit any chances he may have at infiltration." The Hokage glances in Shikaku's direction.

None of them will be sleeping tonight, or even perhaps for the next night, then. Chōza is the only one whose regular duties within the village will not be immediately impacted by this, but as a result it means he will have to pick up the slack for Inoichi and Shikaku, there.

Danzō's eye sweeps over the crowd. "None of the genin are to know, to prevent them from purposefully failing. They are to take the first exam under the parameters that were already decided and those that pass are to be escorted to the second exam's muster point by either their sensei or a guardian. Any team that does not arrive for the first or second exam when they should have will be considered to have committed treason and investigated."

Purposefully failing, as though the first exam is not intended to primarily weed out the less determined. It's something that would be so simple to decide is when so often perception is what determines reality, and Inoichi has the sinking suspicion that he and the other shinobi trained for that kind of interrogation will be too busy to be spared to accurately access that matter. It is an ugly reminder that Shimura Danzō has no qualms against doing dirty work, and one that very few of those gathered in the room understood the true depths where that comment was concerned.

For those that did, if they encountered their children or students before the first exam started, they were going to be forced to actively encourage the genin to do their best, lest they failed and came under suspicion. It would be a betrayal of absolute trust because there was no way they would not find out eventually.

"Understood," Shibi acknowledges.

Shikaku does not look at Inoichi, Chōza, or even Shibi before speaking. "What other security measures will be needed for the second exam?" he asks, instead. "I'm assuming you will want me to establish squads around the perimeter, within the tower, and throughout the forest." It is not the most perfect of maneuvers, but there are only so many to be made against an old shinobi who has lived as long as Danzō. Even Shikaku would be hard-pressed there.

"Coordinate with the barrier team and wall security force as well," Hiruzen orders. "Have the jōnin most skilled in barrier techniques and fuinjutsu work with them to eliminate as many opportunities for him to leave the village."

Being trapped within the village walls with more malevolently intentioned shinobi than was necessary was not how Inoichi expected the exam period to go.

"I'm volunteering myself and another for one of the forest squads," Kakashi says.

Hiruzen gives the younger man a reproachful look. "Kakashi, you are one of the most skilled fuinjutsu users within the village. Your skills will be put to better use elsewhere."

"Tenzo and I have some of the most experience where Orochimaru is concerned."

Danzō shows no sign of any recognition of the name of Kakashi's friend, or even why either man would have that experience, but Inoichi knows.

"I'm also volunteering," Sarutobi Asuma speaks up. He looks his father in the eyes, almost defiantly. "I'm sure Nii-san would be glad to help out if I ask."

Between the two of them, it causes a ripple of volunteerism through the other jōnin and even some of the tokubetsu within the room. The vast majority of them- at least the younger ones- are jōnin-sensei, who haven't yet been relegated to the fate of any jōnin that lives to become old enough: that of winding up in a leadership position that keeps them within the village and unable to regularly take field missions.

It's enough of a solid showing that to outright refuse them now would unbalance things worse; the morale of the jōnin who do fieldwork or were in charge of genin within the village has already taken a beating since the public shaming and subsequent punishment Kakashi had received in front of them. Shikaku had quietly vented to Inoichi and Chōza about it, one night, in the depths of his home's office.

Hiruzen was also aware of the matter.

While the Hokage was the leader of the village, one still had to consent to be led, whether out of willingness or coercion.

"Quiet down," the old man tells them, and the jōnin settle, to a tense quiet that awaits what his answer will be before anything will shift further. "Very well. All of you may take part in those security measures, but do not think it will come without consequences." Hiruzen's eyes focus on Kakashi meaningfully.

"I live to serve the village," Kakashi answers. "Which means my current duty to train the genin who will replace me is my utmost priority."

Kakashi is refusing to settle, and that will lead to problems further down the road, but for now he is safe. Those words will hold weight with Hiruzen, and done as publicly as this will prevent him from seeing immediate and obvious retaliation from other quarters. The blow to Kakashi's reputation after his mission to Wave has done some lasting damage, but largely among the civilians and chūnin of the village. There were not very many jōnin, especially those Kakashi's age or older, who didn't know how seriously the younger man took not just ensuring mission success but the wellbeing of any ninja on the mission with him. The idea that Kakashi's loyalty or dedication to the village could be questioned had rocked the jōnin corps to their center.

"And what about the usual rules for the forest?" Tsume says, speaking up. Her eyes are focused on one of the Hokage's advisors: Mitokado Homura.

Inoichi resists the urge to wince for the first time during this.

The fact that Inuzuka Tsume had resisted the urge until now to speak meant the woman was effectively on the hunt and had been waiting for an opening. The rare Inuzuka that worked in Intelligence were a pain in some ways because of the attitude their clan tended to foster; they had a different eye towards discipline than most shinobi who worked in that division did, and weren't against butting heads with anyone once they started on a project or potential lead. Inoichi refused to have any of them on his watch floor as a result. The Analysis Team had enough work to do without having an Inuzuka around to cause trouble.

"What do you mean?" the advisor asks. "If he isn't caught by then, the exam will still go on." The man is a staunch traditionalist. Tsume is not, and it is as much that as the fact that she leans heavily on her specialties that leaves her as only a tokubetsu in rank even though Inoichi knows from gossip and hearsay that she could be a full jōnin. Tsume enjoys causing trouble too much to ever be promoted.

"If Orochimaru entered the village, that means he has to have inside help. Maybe even someone who's in this room," Tsume begins, almost lazily, ignoring the mutters that suggestion causes. "I doubt it'd only be one person; he's not exactly the type, is he, Hokage-sama?" She moves on before Hiruzen can respond. "Which means we need to assume that even if he doesn't infiltrate the second exam itself— since you haven't told us why he's here that means you all either don't know or there are multiple reasons besides just the exam— he'll still have people doing his bidding either among the chūnin involved in running the exam or embedded among the genin."

Tsume looks down at her nails, and idly picks at one of them, hand turned to show off the red paint and the sharp points. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not sending my son in there just so he can get killed off by some traitorous hanger-on who might think it's a good idea to take a chance at kidnapping Hyūga Hinata again because Orochimaru's interested in kekkei genkai and them being able to get away with it because the usual rules for the exams allow for killing."

"Tsume!" Hiashi's shout is almost the loudest thing in the room at the uproar the woman has caused with that comment. It takes skill to make Hyūga Hiashi lose his temper in public, but Tsume is a natural at causing disruptions.

The upset she's sown by saying that has proved her point handily. At the skill level expected for making chūnin, it is very rare that any genin have killed, much less are capable of killing another genin. Even in war, most chūnin rarely are at a point of being able to kill another chūnin in battle except from complete luck. Killing being allowed in the exams rarely matters. It's unusual for there to be that many deaths. It's an open secret, one where the dangers of the exam are played up and emphasized so that the genin, who are usually unaware, will take the dangerous things in the forest seriously.

There are occasional incidents, but rarely enough to call the lack of limitations there into question. Framing it like this though, Tsume has pointed out the severe flaw that Homura would usually be the first to defend for the sake of a made-up tradition that isn't even all that old. Before the hidden villages came into being, the clans used to decide that sort of thing on their own without tossing in an extra opportunity for their most promising young shinobi to get themselves killed. The age range for genin is wide enough that it wouldn't be difficult for an experienced chūnin or even young-looking jōnin to be taking part in the exam and use it as a chance to kill any genin with ease.

"Enough!" The room quiets at Hiruzen's shout, but more uneasily than before. He clears his throat before continuing. "You're correct, we don't know what exactly his plans are, but the rules for the first two exams are not why any of you are here. This is to ensure that Orochimaru has fewer opportunities to succeed at his goals and make it easier to capture him. The fact he is in the village will be common knowledge soon enough."

They will be dismissed soon, then. With any luck, he will be able to talk with Chōza and Shikaku for long enough for them to coordinate amongst themselves what to do with their children. He has a strong feeling that even though his shift on the watch floor is supposed to be over in a couple of hours, he won't be going home today, or possibly even tomorrow.

Hiruzen focuses his attention on them, and Inoichi begins to feel resigned already. "Shikaku, begin making plans and inform your commanders. Inoichi, you will accompany Jiraiya to Intelligence for a briefing with Analysis. You're both dismissed."

He exchanges a glance with Shikaku, who no doubt feels the same way, from his guarded expression. No luck, then.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." There is nothing else that they can say.

"Let our wives know?" Shikaku asks Chōza. Chōza will still be busy, but his usual in-village duties won't be disturbed in the same way. His work is easier to delegate.

Chōza nods, frowning. "I'll go do that first, before I go back to work. I'll figure something out with Asuma-kun."

"Good luck," Inoichi tells him.

Shikaku and Inoichi leave the room. They'll find a way to make time to discuss this later— they always do— but for now, this isn't the time or place to talk. Shikaku leaves for his office, to begin his own work. The main jōnin force will probably be finding out before Inoichi makes it back to the Intelligence Division's main building.

Inoichi waits for Jiraiya, wishing that he had made more time for Ino this morning.

For the last several weeks, she had been acting strange, even sometimes clingy in a way she's never been, even as a young child, and anxious. She hadn't wanted to talk about it when he asked, and Suzuka had made it clear to him that they needed to respect her boundaries, however odd she was acting. She was almost thirteen, after all, and it wasn't uncommon for girls that age to begin puberty and start experiencing and thinking about things that their male peers wouldn't yet for another couple of years, and it was better off for her to have the privacy to have those thoughts and feelings in peace without her father knowing them intimately. Didn't he agree?

Inoichi had not pressed further. He knew when to quit. He would just have to trust that she would go to him or her mother if she needed them. She was a smart girl.

Hopefully she would be safe if she makes it through the first exam.

Shibi exits the room, and pauses just long enough to nod to Inoichi before he leaves. From this close up, the buzzing of agitated kikaichū can be heard. No large surprise, there, considering how much there is to be unhappy about. Not only is Shibi's son also in danger, the preparation time he was supposed to have before the first exam starts has been eaten up entirely by this turn of events.

Jiraiya finally comes out, looking tired and worn now that he's no longer putting a face on for an audience.

"Jiraiya-sama," Inoichi says, in greeting.

"I don't need any of that," the older man says, scrubbing at his face to ease the tiredness from it. "Let's just go so I can tell you what I know. I have a good source and I was able to verify it independently." He starts walking, geta clacking on the floor at a speed that forces Inoichi to lengthen his stride in order to catch up and stay at the same pace as him. It's not often that that happens to him, but Jiraiya is a tall man, even without the geta.

"Will you be able to tell us who your source is?" Inoichi asks. If he can reveal it, the easier it will be to turn what Jiraiya knows into much more.

"Would be nice if I could."

So much for that.

The walk out of the building is silent, but just as they go outside, Jiraiya turns a canny eye on him, a smirk on his face. Inoichi isn't sure what to expect.

"You still run your mom's old flower shop?"

Somehow, he hadn't expected Jiraiya to remember that. "Yes, why?"

"I don't know anything about plants. What the hell are you supposed to do for a magnolia tree that's gotten too big? I thought that thing was supposed to be a bush!"


End file.
